Calgary travels to Edmonton, attempting to go 5-0 on the Canada West football season

Calgary Dino Cyril Iwanegbe tries to block a pass to the Manitoba Bisons Nic Demski at McMahon Stadium on September 20. Iwanegbe will lead the Dinos into Edmonton this weekend to face rival U of A.

Photograph by: Christina Ryan
, Calgary Herald

The Calgary Dinos’ coaching staff didn’t start out expecting more than a youthful secondary was able to deliver. However, four games and four wins into the season, those expectations have surely altered somewhat.

“(The coaches) are just asking us to play the system really,” noted rookie Adam Laurensse, out of the Edmonton Wildcats, who leads the conference with three interceptions. “We all knew coming in that we were young so basically just stay true to what they’re teaching.

“We’re all in the same boat. We’re growing every game, getting better and better.”

The on-field studies continue for the Dinos’ this weekend when they bus up to Edmonton to take on the winless University of Alberta Golden Bears on Saturday (5 p.m., canadawest.tv). The Golden Bears, trying to get back to the respectable side of the table, have certainly improved from the past few years. They average 438 yards per game under new head coach Chris Morris but they’ve also given up an average of just under 50 points. Yet who hasn’t suffered in this 2013 defence-challenged Canada West? Calgary, with 10 of 12 new starters in the lineup, has given up the fewest points with a 26.5 average.

“We’re definitely not taking this team for granted,” said head coach Blake Nill. “We’re preparing for them with the respect we do for every other program.”

“We go into every game with the mindset that we have to play four quarters,” added second-year Cyril Iwanegbe. “Just because we won Canada West doesn’t mean we’re going to go in and win, especially with the new faces. His attitude is — (Nill) constantly reminds us — that we’re going into a war, we have to battle with four quarters. We can’t just go and show up.”

For someone like Iwanegbe, the most experienced DB heading into the season with four games under his belt, this year has been a totally different experience.

“Last year, me being thrown in with a bunch of fifth years I thought, oh man, I really have to hold on to my part because I don’t want to be the one guy to mess up,” said the Nigeria-born Iwanegbe. “But now Coach has a lot more patience. The biggest thing we talk about every day is we try to climb up the ladder. We looked at the game film and we made a lot of mistakes in different areas of the game. But for us to get to possibly a Vanier Cup we need to clean up everything we can clean up along the way.”

One of the rookies out of a terrific recruiting class is Robbie Woodson, who suffered a high ankle sprain and could miss a couple of games.

“You can see during the games examples of inexperience throughout the back end; guys who are dropping too quick or too much, leaving zone areas wide open,” said Nill. “But you also see progression each and every week. Our coaches have done a great job with the secondary and I was comfortable that we’d start seeing improvement around week four or five and hopefully they keep ramping up.”

Michael Schmidt, like Iwanegbe in his second year, believes that expectations, in spite of youth, really haven’t changed.

“Obviously, we’re not going to be as good as last year in terms of doing our plays like they’re designed, because we’re still young,” he explained. “But Coach still expects the same level of heart and dedication to get to that level.”

An even newer face to the defensive backfield is receiver-turned-DB Elie Bouka, who has moved across the field, where the Dinos are sure to use his speed and athleticism.

NOTE: Calgary third-year quarterback Andrew Buckley was named CIS offensive player of the week, on the strength of his outstanding showing against Manitoba last weekend where he tossed for 512 yards — third-best in U of C history — during a 48-24 win.

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